NEW ON DVD: Classics and Foreign Films

One of last year’s most critically acclaimed films gets its DVD/Blu-Ray release this week and the folks at Criterion are at it again.

Here are Three to See on DVD/Blu-Ray for June 23rd, 2009:

1) Waltz With Bashir (2008)

Directed By: Ari Folman

This animated film is part documentary, part memoir, and part fantasy as it follows the events surrounding the Israeli war with Lebanon in 1982. It received the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film and an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Film. It has some incredibly creative animation and has drawn comparisons to last year’s Persepolis. Special features include commentary by director Folman, several featurettes about the animation process, and a Q & A with Folman.

2) The Last Year at Marienbad: Criterion Collection (1961)

Directed By: Alain Resnais

Director Alain Resnais, whose latest film Wild Grass was a hit at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, first made waves back during the French New Wave with films like this. The Last Year at Marienbad is a surreal fantasy about a stranger at an old-fashioned hotel who tries to persuade a married woman to run away with him. Special features include an audio interview with Resnais, a documentary on the making of the film, two featurettes on the style of Resnais, interviews with film scholars about the film’s influence and more!

3) My Dinner With Andre: Criterion Collection (1981)

Directed By: Louis Malle

In a film that’s all talk actor and playwright Wallace Shawn sits down for a meal with theatre director Andre Gregory as they discuss matters of philosophy, love, death, and art. It’s one of the more unique films of the eighties that inspired such great movies as Before Sunrise. Special features include new interviews with stars/writers Shawn and Gregory conducted by filmmaker Noah Baumach, “My Dinner with Louis” from the BBC where Shawn interviews director Malle, and an essay on the film.

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About Alex Carlson

Alex started Film Misery in early 2009 after living the site’s title for many years. His film obsession began in high school when he and his friends would see all of the Oscar Best Picture nominees and try to make predictions...Full Bio.